Power steering apparatus for vessels



2 Sheets-Sheen.

' s. F.,TAPPAN. Power-Steering Apparatus for Vessels.

N 4,364. Patented .Feb. 10,1880,

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PETERS. FNDTO-LITHOGHAFHER. WASHINGTON, D C.

z-sne ts-slheenz. S. P. TAPPAN.

Power-Steering Apparatus for Vessels.

' No. 224,364. Patented Feb; 10, I880,

Am mm.

ERS. PIIOYd-UTMQGRAPNER, WASHINGTON. D, c

UNITED STATES:

PATENT O FICE.

SAMUEL r. TAPPA-N, or snn'raAnclsoo, CALIFORNIA.

POWER STEERING A PPAR Tus FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Pattmt,No. 224,364, dated February10, 1880.

' Application filed February 7, 1879.

To all whomtt mag concern: Be it known that I, SAMUEL F. TAPPAN, of jthe city and county of San Francisco, in the} -State of California, haveinvented a certain;

new and useful Power'Steering Apparatus for Vessels; and I do herebydeclare that 'the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofmy invention, reference being hadto the drawings forming part of thisspecification.

This invent-ion relates to steering gear or apparatus for vessels, andit is' of that class designed to be worked by power. It-isapplied to orcombined with the steering-wheel or its drum, and is operated by powertransmitted from the engine-room through an end-. less belt. j

Its object is toprovide a steering apparatus by which the rudder isplaced under complete control, not only of the man in the wheelhouse,but also of the officer on the bridge or the deck above, which servesand operates at all times to indicate to the steersman and to. theofficer on the bridge the exact position of the rudder, and whichpossesses, besides,'great' simplicity of construction, economy both in,the motive power required to run it and in the space needed for it inthe wheel-house, and facility and rapidity of operation, all which willbe more fully set forth hereinafter.

The principal elements of my invention consi'st of a horizontal shaftheld in bearingsin} close position to the steering-drum and geared intothe drum or-the steering-wheel, an arrangement of loose pulleys revolvedcontinuously and in opposite directiousito each other upon said shaft, ameans for lockin g said p'ulleys one at a time to said shaft to give itmotion in'either direction at will, and a means for operating saidlocking mechanism both from the station in the W'hevl-house and from thebridge or deck above; also, in connection:

and combination with the drum, steeringwheel, or other part of asteering-gear ofa vessel, a means for recording or showing the movementsof the rudder and indicating its position at all times to'the'mauat thewheel and the officer on the bridge or the deck above also, incombination with the mechanism for; moving the rudder, a friction brakeor brakes to hold the steering-drum stationary at any point when therotating mechanism is thrown out of action.

levers.

uponjits axle.

opposite directions, one

To more fully. understand the nature of my invention, and the manner ofconstructing and applying it, the accompanying drawings are hereinreferred to by letters and figures.

} a detail view of the-auxiliary hand-lever. Fig. 4 is anelevation, indetail, of the'principal shaft, withits pulleys, clutches, and operatingmechanism. Fig. 5is a view, partly in section,

taken through the line w m, Fig. all Fig. 6 is a detail view of thefriction-clutches and their Fig. 7: shows the construction of the axialsleeve between the clutches. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the pivotedplate between the drum or axle D are all of the ordinary kind now inuse, and no change is required to apply my invention to anysteering-gear already constructed. Between the standards B B, Iplaceasuitable supporting-frame, E E, firml y secured to the floor ofthe wheel-house," in

which are suitable bearings for a horizontal,

shaft, (1. Upon the end of this shaft, outside of the bearing E, I fixapinion, b, to'work into a gear-wheel, F, that is either bolted to thearms of the steering-wheel or is secured Upon theshaft a, betwcen thebearings E E, are two loose pulleys, G G, that are free to revolveindependently of each other, and these pulleys are driven continuouslyfrom a shaft or a motor located in the engine-room of the vessel bymeans of an endless belt, H, thatrunsover one pulley, Gr, around beneatha pulley, g, and backover the other pulley, G, and theyare thus rotatedin to'the right and the other to the left.

II are two friction disks or clutches fixed upon and turning with theshaft a-or rather turning it wheneit-her one of them is locked to one ofthecontinuously-rotating pulleys. They are capable of being movedlaterally upon theshaft, but are heldat a'fixed (listance from eachother, and are shifted forward.

or back simultaneously together. They c cupyaposition on the centralpart of the shaft equidistant from both pulleys G G, and the aroundeither to port or to starboard. The

movement of oneclntch against its pulley G or G causes the shaft a torevolve in one direction, while the movement of this clutch away fromits pulley and the contact of the opposite clutch with the pulley nextto it produces a revolution of the shaft in the other direction. Theposition of these clutches I I when the rudder is to be held. at rest atany point is upon the center part of the shaft a,

equidistant between and out of'contact with the twocontinuonsly-revolving pulleys, and therefore whilethe belt H is drivingthepulleys G G, one to the right and the other to the left, no motion isgiven to the shaft a, ex cept as one orthe other of the clutches I I ismoved and held against its pulley.

These several parts-the two continuouslyrevolving pulleys driven bypower transmitted from the engine-room, the shaft a, geared into a wheelon the steering drum, and the shifting frictional clutches for lockingthe shaft to either one of the pulleys-constitute the principal elementsof my apparatus; and for the purpose of properly operating them I employin connection and combination therewith a means for moving the clutchesI I either in the wheel-house or from the bridge or the deck above;also, a means of holding the shaft or at rest at any point as soon asthe clutches are thrown out of action also, a means for throwing theclutches automatically out of action and stopping the movements of theshaft a whenever the rudder reaches its extreme position either to portor to starboard, and a means for automatically moving the operatinglevers or handles simultaneously and in unison with the rudder, so thatas the rudder changes its position with respect to the line of the keelso do the hand-levers change their position with respect to a fixed markor index, and both the rudder and its operating-levers always keep thesame line or angle.

The clutches I I are moved into and out of action by means of a systemof levers and connecting-rods fixed to an upright rock-shaft situated inthe wheel-house, and by which the rudder is placed under the controlboth of the man at the wheel and the pilot on the bridge or another partof the vessel. This mechanism is illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 ofthe drawings. v

The upright rock-shaft J turns in sockets f f in the floor and ceilingof the wheelhouse, and has a hand-lever, K, fixed to it at a convenientheight and position. A second lever, K, is situated upon the roof of thewheel-house, and is secured directly to, the upper end of the shaft J,that projects through the roof; or, where the lever K is re quired to beused in another location at a greater distance from the wheel,connectingbelts or wire ropes la and two grooved pulleys, l I, one ofthem with the lever K upon it, can be employed, as shown in Fig. 3. Bymeans of these two levers. K K the rock-shaft is moved, and its motionsare communicated to the lower ends of the upright levers M M through theconnecting-rod L and the shortarm m, fixed on the shaft J. The lovers MM are pivoted, at n a, to a fulcrum-bar, h, and embrace the shaft a.Between them is placed a loose axial sleeve, 2, through which the shaftor turns freely, and through them project the posts 0 0, that extendfrom opposite sidrs of the sleeve 2. threaded upon their ends to receivethe nuts q q, and after passing through the lovers M M they receive andhold the cross-bars N N, with the shoes or segmentplates r 1*, thatsurround and grasp between them the circular flanges O O on the innerfaces of the clutches I. The pressure of these curved plates 1 r isproduced and regulated by the nuts q and the snrin gs s s, which, bybearing upon the arms N N, hold the curved shoes 1' in contact with theflanges 0. Thus the clutches and their shaft or are kept stationary,except at the times when either one of the clutches is to be thrownThese posts 0 0 are screwagainst a pulley, G or G, to turn the shaft.

At such times the flanges O are relieved from the pivoted plate P,between the lower ends of the upright levers M M, for when the clutchesare to rotate itis necessary to lift and hold back the brakes. Thisplate P, to which the end of the rod L is connected by the pin 70, turnson a pivot, t, and by the movement of the rod it is thrown and held outof a perpendicular. It has two bosses, u u, in the faces of which arethe notches or wedge-shaped slots to w, and into these notches the teethor nibs x a (of corresponding shape) on the ends of the levers M M arepressed and held by the action of the springs s 8.

When the plate P occupies a perpendicular position the nibs or teeth ofthe levers rest in the notches w w; but when it is caused to take adiagonal position the teeth are raised out of the notches w by theturning of the plate, and the ends of the levers M are spread apart andheld a sufficient distance to lift the brakes r 1' clear of the flangeson the sides of the clutches. As long as the plate P is held in suchdiagonal position the teeth a: .r are kept out of their seats in thebosses to u and the brakes are held back; but as soon as the hand-leveroperating the connecting-rod L is released the pressure of the springs s8 against the levers M M, forces the teeth .00 aback into their notchesand permits the brakes r r to close against the flanges 0. At the sametime the plate P is brought back into its position the pressure of theshoes r r by .theaction of i i l 1 in perpendicular linewith the leversM. This;

will be all clearly understood by referring to, Figs. 4, 5, 8, 10 of thedrawings. Whenever the rock-shaft J is turned by the hand-levers theconnecting-rod L is caused to; move the upright levers M'upon theirfulcrumpoint it intoamore .or less inclined position,

and by this means to press the end of the; shifting-sleeve p, and alsomove one or other of the sets of brake-shoes laterally against; the faceof a clutch, I or I, and. hold it against thepulley next to it. As longas. pressure; against the hand-lever is maintained the levers l M willkeep the clutch in action and the'shafti a will revolve; but themovementrequired to; throw the parts into and out of working contact isso slight that as soon as the hand-lever} is released the tendency ofthe levers M MI to i return to their normal position through the:pressure of the springs s s will throw on thel brakes at the same timethat the clutch in ac-i tion is moved from its pulley. Thus theconnecting-rod L, while it moves the levers M M} toward one or the otherof the clutches and' produces their required shifting movements towardthe pulleysG G, also acts atthe same; time to lift and hold up thebrakes r r by turning the plate P into a diagonal position,

By reference to Figs. 1, 4, and ll of. the: drawings it will be seenthat the fulcrum-bar h is not stationary, but is made to travel upon ascrew-shaft,Q. This screw-shaft is placed above and in line withvtheshaft a, and is geared with it by meansof the pinion y and thegear-wheel R. Any movement of the steer in g-wheel therefore produces a.corresponding rotation of the shaft Q, and the fulcrum-point h iscaused to travel and change its position on the shaft simultaneouslywith the rudders' movements, and either toward or away fromv a verticalline, 1. 2, on which the posts or centers o 0 are situated. When thefulcrum-bar h has traveled from one end to the other of the screw-shaftQ the rudder has moved from its extreme point port to its extremeposition starboard, or vice versa, according to the direction ofmovement. This shifting of the fulcrum-point h turns the levers aboutupon the center posts, 0 0, and throws the position of the ends of thelevers and their plate]? either nearer to or farther away from the lineof the upright rock-shaft J and as the length of theconuecting-rod L isa fixed one this movement of the point of connection affects the angularposition of the short arm or lever fixed on the upright shaft, and. thuschanges the angle of the hand-levers K with respectto the longitudinalaxis of the vessel or a fixed index-mark. The rudder of the-vesselandthe hand-levers K K are by this means caused to move in unison, and theposition of'the one always coincideswith .thatoccupied by the other. a

As the apparatus is arranged in Figs. 2 and- 4, the rotation of theshaft or in the direction 3 will turn the steering-wheel in thedirection 4 and move the rudder to port. At the same time therotation ofthe screw-shaft Q will move the fulcrum-point in the direction 5 andthrow the levers into the angular position shown in Figs. 4 and 11 bythe broken. lines. By thus moving the point t farther away the uprightally together on their shaft a.) and stop the rotation of the shaft a.This constitutes an automatic means for throwing the apparatus out ofaction as soon as the rudder has reached either extreme position toprevent straining or breaking the rudder or parts of the workingmechanism through carelessness. Fixed stops for the same purpose can bealso placed upon each side of the hand-levers K K to prevent them frombeing pressed over too far.

Instead of making the hand-levers K serve as indicators of the position'of the rudder a fixedpointer on the shaft J and a graduated arcsituated in front of it can be employed in connection. with therock-shaft to show and record more accurately theposition of the rudder.

cated on the deck or bridge convenient to the captains or pilotsaccustomed station, and connecting them positively with theactuatingshaft of the' apparatus in the wheel-house, as

By having additional hand-levers K K lo-' before described, the entireapparatus is placed under the control of the officer on the bridge, and,while the position of the rudder is always indicatedto hi1n,a means isalso provided forcoutrolling the movements of the wheel below in thepilot-house and for check- I ing any change made by the man at the wheelthrough. haste or carelessness. This indicating mechanism can be readilyapplied to'the steering-wheel of any vessel without the employment ofthe actuating-pulleys and locking mechanism that are herein connectedwith .it.

Where the belt H cannot be driven with advantageor convenience fromthe'main engine of thevessel an auxiliary motor can be employed, andthesurp us power thereof can be '1';

amount of pressure required to hold the steering-wheel at rest can bevaried, so that the brakes may yield and allow the wheel to turn andrelieve the rudder just enough to prevent any breaking of the parts 111a heavy sea.

Having thus fully described my invention, what 1 claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A power steering apparatus for vessels, consisting of the followingparts or elements a steering drum or axle having a gear-wheel securedthereon, a horizontal shaft geared into said wheel, a set of loosepulleys revolved continuously and independently of each other inopposite directions upon said shaft, and a means for locking either oneof said pulleys fast upon the horizontal shaft at any time,substantially as herein described, whereby the motion of either one ofsaid pulleys is communicated to the steering-drum.

2. The combination in a power steering apparatus for vessels, of ahorizontal rotating shaft geared into the steering wheel or drum, a setof loose pulleys upon said shaft having a continuous rotary motion inopposite directions to each other, and a set of friction disks orclutches fixed to said shaft but capable of being moved laterally onsaid shaft toward and away from either one of the revolving pulleys,whereby the said shaft can be locked to and receive the rotation ofeither one of the said pulleys at will, substantially as hereindescribed, for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, in a power steering apparatus, of a horizontalrotating shaft geared into the steering wheel or drum, aset of loosepulleys having a continuous rotary motion, as described, upon saidshaft, and a set of friction disks or clutches fixed to said shaftbetween the said revolving pulleys, and also connected to each other, tomove simultaneously and together upon their shaft, whereby either one ofsaid clutches is moved away from its pulley and out of action therewithbefore the other clutch can engage with the pulley adjacent thereto,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, in a power steering apparatus, of a horizontalrotating shaft geared into the steering wheel or drum, and having asetof friction-clutches fixed thereon, butcapable of a laterally-shiftin gmovementin both directions, a set of loose pulleys havingacontinuousrotary motion, one in opposite direction to the other, upon said shaft,and located one in front of each of the said clutches, a means forshifting the said clutches simultaneously together upon said shafttowardand away from their pulleys, and a means for holdin g the said clutchesand their shaft at rest at any point when the said clutches and pulleysare not in working contact, all substantially as herein described.

5. In combination, the laterally -moving clutches I I, the levers M M,pivoted to a fulcrum, h, the loose axial sleeve p, with its posts 0 o,the cross-arms N N, with shoes 1' r, the

connecting-rod L, attached to the free ends of the levers M M, and theactuating rock-shaft J, substantially as herein set forth, andconstituting a means for shifting the said clutches, as described.

6. In combination, the laterally-moving clutches I I, with flanges O O,the levers M M, the screw-shaft Q, geared into the steering wheel ordrum and rotating in unison withit, the traveling fulcrum-bar h, theaxial sleevep on the shaft a, the cross armsN N, with shoes r r, thesprings and nuts q s, the pivoted plate P,and the connecting-rod L,attached thereto, substantially as described, to operate for the purposeset forth.

7. The rock-shaft J and a means for turning the shaft simultaneously andin unison with the steering wheel or drum of a vessel when said shafthas a lever, arm, or other means fixed thereto for indicating itsmovements, substantially as described, all combined for the purposes setforth.

8. The combination, with a steering apparatus for vessels, of therockshaft J, a means for operating the said shaft to turn simultaneouslyand in unison with the steering wheel or drum, and the auxiliary leveror arm K, connected to said shaft, substantially as described, andoperating for the purposes set forth.

9. In combination with the levers M M, having cross-arms N N, with shoes1" r, and the sleeve 1), with the springs and nuts 8 q, the fulcram-barh, for connecting the said levers at one end, and a means, substantiallyas herein described, for spreading them apart at their opposite ends,for the purposes set forth.

10. In combination with the levers M M, pressed toward each other bysprings s, and having a fulcrumoint at one end and angular teeth or nibsm a: on the inner face of their opposite ends, the pivoted rocking plateP, provided with bosses at u, in which are diametrical notches w w, toreceive the said nibs m m, and connected with said levers M M by a pinor pivot which passes through the said ends and through the plate I, andthe lever L, for operating said plate, all constructed and applied tooperate as set forth.

11. In combination with the shaft a, geared into the drum or axle of asteering-wheel, and carrying the continuously-revolving pulleys, and theclutches I I, constructed substantially as described, the travelingfulcrum-bar h upon the screw-shaft Q, having stops 22, which areadjustable in length on the sides of the bar adjacent to the faces ofthe clutches, said shafts a and Q being geared together to operate thefulcrum-bar, substantially as herein described, for the purpose setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal this 25th day of January, 187 9.

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